The carved dome
A stone-carving masterpiece.
R Prazeres — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Robert Prazeres — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Simona Scolari — CC BY-SA 2.0 · Martyn Smith from Appleton, Wisconsin — CC BY 2.0 · Casual Builder — CC BY-SA 3.0 · R Prazeres — CC BY-SA 4.0 · Martyn Smith from Appleton, Wisconsin — CC BY 2.0 · R Prazeres — CC BY-SA 4.0
A funerary complex built by Sultan al-Ashraf Qaytbay between 1472 and 1474 in the desert cemetery east of Cairo, considered by many the most accomplished and refined work of late Mamluk architecture; it is the mosque pictured on the Egyptian one-pound note. Its most famous feature is the stone dome over the sultan's tomb, covered in interlacing floral and geometric patterns carved into the stone with astonishing precision, one of the masterpieces of stone carving in Islamic architecture. A slender three-tier minaret rises beside it. Inside are coloured marble floors, gilded wooden ceilings, stucco windows with coloured glass and an inlaid wooden minbar. Around the complex are homes that grew up among the old tombs, in the area known as the City of the Dead. The complex is a working mosque; entry is free outside prayer times in modest dress, and the caretaker appreciates a small tip if he shows you around or opens the tomb. It is best reached by car or with a guide.
A stone-carving masterpiece.
Three tiers.
Homes among tombs.
Northern Cemetery (City of the Dead), east of historic Cairo
Al-Azhar ParkA park on a hill between Fatimid Cairo and the Citadel, with a stranger history 12 minutes walk4.4
Al-Hussein MosqueOne of the holiest and best-loved mosques in Egypt, on al-Hussein Square at the 15 minutes walk
Al-Azhar MosqueThe oldest working university in the world and one of the oldest mosques in Egyp15 minutes walk4.7
Khan el-KhaliliCairo's great bazaar since the fourteenth century, and still a working market ra16 minutes walk4.3
Wikala of al-GhuriA Mamluk merchants' inn built by Sultan Qansuh al-Ghuri in 1504 and 1505, counte18 minutes walkYes by day, but it is a working-class neighbourhood among the tombs, so go by car or with a guide and respect residents' privacy.